a baptism of fire

baptism of fire

1. The first time a soldier enters combat. Taken from a phrase that originates from the Bible, in Matthew 3:11. As they marched onto the battlefield, you could see all of the uniformed boys become men as they experienced baptism of fire.

2. A difficult ordeal that one has to undergo through immersion and without preparation. One week into her new job, Mary felt like she was undergoing a baptism of fire when she was suddenly put in charge of the company's largest account.

a baptism of fire

COMMON If your first experience of a new situation is a baptism of fire, it is very difficult or unpleasant. They have given themselves a baptism of fire by playing the four best teams in the world.Having never managed a team before, I was suddenly managing thirty people. It was a baptism of fire. Note: This expression originally referred to the deaths of martyrs (= people who die because of their beliefs) by burning. It was later used by the French Emperors Napoleon Bonaparte and Napoleon III to refer to someone's first experience of battle.

Hayes, groomed over the last two years for the tight-head role, knows he faces a baptism of fire against Scotland's British Lions pocket battleship Tom Smith, but will draw comfort from the company of his Munster team-mates.

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